Reverend Dauda Bature, pastor-in-charge of the Evangelical Church Winning All in Nariya, Igabi Local Government Area, Kaduna State, was assassinated by bandits after an undisclosed ransom was paid.
The cleric was alleged to have been kidnapped on November 8 while working in his farm in the same area, according to Sun.
The bandits allegedly began negotiations with the man’s wife and sought a ransom of roughly N10 million, which the family could not afford at the moment.
“When some money was raised, they asked the wife to bring the money which she took to them on November 18. They collected the money and kidnapped her.
“They kept her until December 6 and released her to go and look for more money. From that time, they were not talking to the wife again but another person,” a source said.
Confirming the incident, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kaduna, Reverend Joseph Hayab, lamented that the bandits were now “cruel and brutal” to their victims, calling on the government to increase efforts to put the frequent attacks on people to check.
He said, “On Thursday, they just called to tell the man that they had killed the pastor since they could not bring more money. The leadership of ECWA has been finding it difficult to break the information to the wife until yesterday (Friday) which was why people are just getting to know about it.
“What this means is that the bandits have become so cruel and brutal to their victims. They no longer have mercy.
“It shows our government needs to triple what its doing. These people cannot be defeated through rhetoric but by a superior fire. Despite the measures taken, they still continue their wickedness.”
